Unlimited Hyperbole

This Christmas I’ve bought Unlimited Hyperbole back for a special episode, during which I threw the microphone into the crowd and asked you, the listeners, to send in submissions telling me the answer to one question.

If you could change one thing about your involvement with games, what would it be?

I was astonished by the responses which came back and I’ve presented them all here as straightforwardly as I can, with as little droning and editing from me as possible. Settle in for a longer, rougher and more optimistic episode of Unlimited Hyperbole than ever before, with submissions from the following delightful people and a download mirror provided by Split Screen…

Little bit of housekeeping in advance of the Unlimited Hyperbole Christmas Special. As of today all Unlimited Hyperbole episodes are hosted on Dropbox and it’s no longer possible to subscribe through iTunes or RSS. Sorry, but there are logistical reasons which make it necessary.

That’s an inconvenience, so to make up for it I’ve compiled all four seasons into a single album you can download in one go. If you’ve not listened to Unlimited Hyperbole and want to quickly up to speed, this is the way to go.

Also: I’ll be at Videobrains this month, as will several contributors to the show. I’ve spoken there before and it’s great, so come say Hi!

Unlimited Hyperbole has been officially on-hold for a while, but nevertheless I wanted to give an update about some things that have happened with the show recently.

Firstly, I was persuaded to keep the show going in some capacity. I’ve promised to do at least one more episode and I’m currently planning it as a Christmas special, though what the theme will be and who the guest could be, I have no idea. Let me know your suggestions on Twitter!

Secondly, over the last 12 months I allowed the old Soundcloud account to lapse. That caused some episodes to become unavailable or reach their download limit. Both were a pain, so I’ve rehosted all episodes on Dropbox. That’s broken the old RSS feed and iTunes subscription, but you can at least listen to and download all episodes easily.

Last year, I had an idea. Like most of my ideas it was borne out of frustration and dissatisfaction; it was arrogant and melodramatic and took itself too seriously. Eventually it became Unlimited Hyperbole, a podcast which is still best described in those three terms.

Now, after four seasons and twenty episodes, Unlimited Hyperbole is finished. I set myself the goal of being nominated for Best Podcast in the Games Media Awards and I said I’d stop if I didn’t make it. I didn’t, so the show’s over.

A few people have asked why I set that goal and why I’m stopping the show so suddenly. I figure I owe those people an explanation.

The Games Media Awards are back. Last year’s awards were cloaked in scandal, but they say the event has been overhauled this year. I’ll still frown at it no matter what, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

First, I’ll say that I’m asking you to vote for Unlimited Hyperbole as Best Podcast. Anyone can vote and all you have to do is send an email, so vote for Unlimited Hyperbole here.

Why ask for votes? Because Harriet and I think the show is genuinely not awful and deserves a shot. Because it costs us money to run and this would be nice compensation for that. Because we’d like to prove not all games podcasts involve middle-aged men making tired jokes for one raw hour and that good journalism isn’t always the sort of hyperbole we started this podcast to oppose.

Because while one nomination is probably enough to win consideration, I’ve been doing this long enough to know that doesn’t mean any of the judges will listen to the show or even be aware it exists.

Anyway. Vote if you like what we do. In the meantime I’ll talk about the awards themselves…

When you’re talking about a theme such as ‘The One That Got Away’ then it’s easy to get stuck thinking on the small scale, such as cancelled games and personal losses. But what about the bigger picture – what about the larger ideas which have escaped us all?

Mike Cook is the researcher responsible for creating ANGELINA, the game-making AI. In this episode he talks about how research is an overlooked aspect of the games industry and explains why it’s a problem developers don’t interact with academics more often. In doing so he reveals the future that’s got away from the industry and asks if gamers have been cheated out of their ambitions by a lifetime of samey shooters and stagnant technology.

Unlimited Hyperbole is a short podcast about videogames and the stories we tell about them. The show is divided into seasons of five episodes, each with a precise topic. This time we’re talking about ‘The One That Got Away’ – but to find out more, read after the jump.